By Mike McClary

Closing Time at The Daily Fungo

Posted on December 6, 2011

The other day I received a nasty-gram from a reader taking me to task for not covering the Winter Meetings with more gusto. I suppose that’s fair. Though, there’s not much going on as far as the Tigers are concerned and there are enough outlets reporting it. Nevertheless, it got me thinking.

As you’ve no doubt noticed, particularly since the Tigers’ season ended in Arlington, the offerings at The Daily Fungo have been sparse – and that’s been by design. Since I launched this blog in March 2006, I’ve never wanted to post something for the sake of keeping up a schedule. In fact, I think the “daily” component of this blog’s name was fraudulent on day two. But over the course of six seasons you still visited the site, left insightful comments and motivated me to keep cranking out the material. Thank you for that.

My goal was to never waste your time – though I’m sure I missed the mark on dozens of occasions; thanks for bearing with me – and to offer a perspective on the Tigers that you might not find elsewhere. I hope I did once in a while.

Thanks, too, to The Daily Fungo contributors: Ian Casselberry, Jim Craddock, Wade Fink, Len Gutman, Doug Hill, John Milton and Nick Shlain. I’m glad you were part of the team.

Finally, I send thanks to Craig Monroe for providing the inspiration for so much of the content in the early days.

Be good, everyone. It’s been a blast.

P.S. I’ll still be writing about the Tigers on Twitter. Follow me @DailyFungo.

Thank you Mike. I really appreciate all the work you and the others have done over the years. I’ll certainty miss your reports. Maybe a name change to the “Occasional Fungo” and some less frequent posts? If not, thanks again, and best of luck to you.

Thanks for all the wonderful Tigers’ writing. I stumbled upon this blog and your podcast with Ian while teaching in South Korea (I’ve since come back home to MI), and it was a blast keeping up on my favorite team through the Fungo.

Long time reader first time poster, probably the reason you are leaving. Always enjoyed your blog and the comments. Sad to see this end. Hope your reason for leaving is not simply one lashing via email. Either way hope you remain happy and Go Tigs!!

I have to say this is a shame. I have appreciated your insightful analyses of the Tigers for a while now. I agree with the other posters, I encourage you to change the “daily” to “occasional”. But, if you chose not to good luck in all your endeavors!

The Fungo was a great blog and you went out on top! Great insights and interviews during the whole ride.

So many highlights over the years, but if I had to pick a favorite it was when you asked Lynn Henning a few years ago if Ramon Santiago could be the Tigers every day shortstop. Henning replied, “Mike, you would be looking at Ray Oyler-type numbers offensively.”

I still roar like a Tiger with laughter every time I think about it.

The Fungo’s legacy will be the creativity, intelligence and fun you brought to your product.

Thanks for the memories Mark… I’ve really enjoyed both the blog and the podcast and it kept me in touch with my Tigers. Great meeting you on your visit to San Diego a few years ago. You’re a true professional. All the best in your future. Merry Christmas!